Rhubarb
by JuneLuxray2
Summary: Scales has always been different from the other changelings. All he wanted to do was bake treats, even though they could not satiate his hunger. One day he leaves the lair of the changelings and finds himself in Ponyville. He masks himself as a pony named Rhubarb and gets a job as a baker. Life is comfortable for him, until changelings are made infamous in Equestria as parasites.
1. Prologue

**This is centered around an OC of mine I made recently.**

**My Little Pony (c) Hasbro  
**

**Story and Scales/Rhubarb (c) Me  
**

The world was dark and damp. Underneath the surface lay the world of the changelings, in their deep, complex, and humid tunnels. The resident changelings were used to the conditions and went about their business. Noises were all over, whether they be buzzing sounds or drip dropping or sounds of chatter of the residents or bats or flapping sounds, noise persisted.

One changeling sat in silence in a corner of the caves that only a few frequented. The noise was driving him mad slowly. A drop of water fell down on his head from one of the smaller stalactites on the ceiling and he merely glanced at it and wiped it off. He stared at his hoof for a second before rubbing the moisture over his face. The only other changeling in the room who was watching him ignored him and watched the others go about their business, which was mostly leaving the caverns to feed upon love.

No one spoke to the silent being in the corner and only spoke of him on very rare occasions. They liked to pretend he didn't exist. Every so often a changeling would stop and gawk at him and ask the one standing guard who he was. Most of the time the guard would tell them he was nothing of interest, but if they truly persisted, the guard sighed and spoke.

"That is a creature not worth being called a changeling. He disobeyed the rules of our race for years until we caught him in the act." When asked what he did, the guard merely sighed again. "He was committing..._odd_ behavior. Now, you may think he was just doing this to feed on love. Oh, no. He was abusing his power to change his form to _cook,_ of all things. Instead of spending his time wisely like a _good_ changeling and to hunt for more to feed upon for the _rest_ of the colony, he ignored us for his _own_ greedy purpose...his _sick_ purpose...what sort of changeling wants to _cook? _Who could do such an un-changeling-like thing without good reason?"

This caused the listener to grimace and give the one who had so offended his people a glare before walking along. Scales, the one who was alone in the corner, didn't care anymore. He was used to those glares. All he did was dream of the next time he would be able to bake something, and it was all he thought of. He was only allowed out with the guards when they went to go feed. He thought about it then, too.

When he was a child, he had found a recipe for rhubarb pie. In spite of fully well knowing changeling law, he found ingredients and cooked. It could not satiate any hunger, but flavor...he guessed he was the only changeling to ever experience the flavor of food other than love. He began to bake treats over and over again in secrecy, until one day he was caught in the act. Scales had been shunned since. Soon Scales forgot how long he had been staying in the tunnels after that event; it seemed like forever. Life was monotonous and horrid. Being under constant watch, he couldn't transform himself and flee without being caught.

Finally one day that all changed. It was the evening, and Scales was snoozing when the guard came and pushed him to wake up. He awoke and looked at the guard. "Come along. Queen Chrysalis has requested all the changelings to meet in her court." he said. Scales stood up and followed him, stretching his stiff legs. Bats were flying around the room and the tunnels, confused by all the activity. The first thing he noticed was that the tunnels were extremely crowded. He and the guard had to fight their way through the crowds for at least fifteen minutes before they reached the queen's massive underground courtyard. It was huge. There was plenty of space on the ground and in the air and on the occasional ledge for the changelings to stand or fly around. The court was also filled with multiple glowing green sacs that were changeling eggs; these eggs illuminated the place. Years upon years old stalactites were dripping down on stalagmites, like the rest of the underground they resided in.

The two had found a spot in the back and waited. Within another twenty minutes, the room had gone silent. Queen Chrysalis entered from the highest ledge and stood over her subjects. The changelings all fell to their knees and bowed in respect. The queen raised her hoof and the group arose. "My dearest subjects! The time for us to become the greatest and most powerful nation in the world has come! The Royal Scouting Party has returned and reported to me a land rich in love. It has such a large quantity of love it could feed us forever. I went and I viewed this land of blessings myself, and it is everything my spies have foretold. It is a land known as Equestria. We have found ourselves at a prime moment to take control, starting with the capitol, Canterlot. There is a royal wedding to occur. I shall go and mask myself as the princess, and after I feed off of the groom enough and marry him, we will be ready to storm the capitol.

"First Canterlot and then Equestria! And I need you, my loyal subjects, to be in my army. Who shall serve their people with honor and join my ranks?"

The room filled with cheers and shouts and excitement. Almost all raised their holey hooves into the air. All except for one. Scales stood back, horrified. He could listen no longer. The plan disgusted him and filled him with fear. It was then he realized that the guard he came with was no longer paying attention to him. The guard was too excited and too busy cheering and had forgotten all about Scales in the action.

Scales watched carefully and slowly backed away into one of the tunnels, into the murky darkness. He looked up at some of the bats flying around; the bats had gotten clearly startled by all the excitement and noise and were chattering loudly. _"This is my chance at freedom!" _he thought to himself. Looking around to make sure not a single soul was watching him, he ducked into one of the rooms. A green light surrounded him and he became a bat.

He flew out of the room and joined the crowd of confused bats and hid among their ranks. Without taking a second look back, he began to fly towards the entrance of the caverns, the way to the outside world. Much like when he had to fight to get to the courtyard, he had to fight to make his way around all of the bats. He subconsciously followed the path he had known all his life, the only thing on his mind being freedom.

Soon enough a splash of fresh air buffeted his face and he realized he was no longer underground. It was so late and so dark out that he could not tell the inside of the cave from the entrance until he felt the night air wash himself. He bathed in the night and his new freedom and carried himself a few miles further into the night, far away from his prison.

The traveling was taxing. He was very hungry; he had not fed in days, but he knew it was foolish to stop too close to his former place of residence. The moon and stars were his only companions in the night. He was afraid of stopping yet wanted to stop so badly. His vision blurred and he wasn't sure how far he had gone. He merely went where the wind guided him. Soon enough, however, he was too tired to continue on and he fell down.

Before passing out, he felt something nudge him. He cracked open his eyes and saw a white rabbit standing in front of him, and a yellow pegasus following the rabbit to the bat. The pegasus gasped, and all he heard before fully becoming immersed in dreamland was the pegasus's tender voice echo in his ears. _"Don't you worry, little one...you're safe now...you'll be okay."_


	2. A New World

**My Little Pony (c) Hasbro  
**

**Cover image (c) Pii  
**

**Story and Scales/Rhubarb (c) Me  
**

When Scales woke up, he felt considerably better. He felt satiated and full, unlike the hunger he had felt the night before. His feet were hanging onto something and he looked up and realized he was hanging upside down from a post, and a small clip was on his wing. The clip was attached to a machine below that had a pulse rate on the screen, and a small IV needle was on him. Other animals were running around the house happily, and the same rabbit who he saw the night prior was looking up at him before retreating to another room. Soon he heard a gentle voice and he knew the reason why he felt so much better. The pegasus pony who he had saw last night as well came into the room, the rabbit following her. She smiled.

"Good morning, little one. It's wonderful to see you awake. You're doing so much better than you were doing last night in the middle of the night. Some of the owls who live around my home came and let me know there was an animal that was in need of help so late at night, at two in the morning. You perked right up as soon as I gave you some care. I guess love is a great medicine. Anyways, I think you got dehydrated, so I put an IV in you filled with liquid to rehydrate you." She smiled and glanced at the machine he was attached to. "I put a pulse oximeter on you and you've just gotten so much better overnight. Just let me check your heartbeat and I'll serve you breakfast and you'll be able to go. Make sure to drink a lot of water before you take off."

Fluttershy slipped on a stethoscope and placed it on his chest and listened for a few minutes. "Okay, breathe in...breathe out...good..." She moved it around a few times and finally took out the stethoscope and smiled at him. "You're healthy. Here, I got you some nice fruit and water. Eat up and then you can go. Come back if you have any other problems, okay?" Fluttershy removed the oximeter and the IV needle. She left again for a minute and placed a bowl of water before him and a plum and left to care for her other animals. Scales was shocked. Never before had he been fed so much love in one sitting.

_"This must be part of Equestria, the land the queen talked about..." _Though he was quite full, he still ate the plum to be a polite guest and drank some of the water and took his leave. Fluttershy looked up from another animal she was attending to at him for a second and smiled and waved at him.

"Come back any time!" she said. He squeaked gratefully in response and left. When he exited out the window, he stopped in awe of what he saw. Equestria was _beautiful. _All sorts of animals ran or flew or crawled about merrily, and the sun peeked over thin clouds in the sky and smiled at him. Below the pathway to the house was a creek, where frogs and fish lounged. He could see ponies a little ways away trotting past the home he exited, enjoying the beautiful day.

It was the polar opposite of the gloomy, dank, and dark caverns he had grown up in. He knew right there and then that that was where he was meant to be. Scales looked again towards passerby ponies. "_If I'm going to live here, I need to turn myself into one of them._" He watched the ponies passing by for a few more moments before flying behind some trees, out of view. He landed on the ground and began to make outlines of multiple ponies on the ground.

Scales played with different designs for awhile until he finally obtained an outline he liked. It was a unicorn stallion with a short mane and tail, somewhat spiky at the edges of the hair, and large eyes. He looked to the currently empty flank of the outline and thought for a second. What would be his mark? It only took a moment of thought before he doodled down a pie with a lattice top crust. Now for colors; this baffled him for a second. He wasn't sure what color he wanted. So he glanced around, hoping for an answer from the world. A glance was sent up at the sky subconsciously and he stopped. His eyes met the canopy of the trees, the deep, rich brown color of the trucks and the gentle green leaves that whispered in the wind. He glanced down at the drawing and he wrote some words into the mane and coat. He wrote in the mane BROWN and in the coat GREEN.

And then came the eyes. He thought for a moment before remembering the light blue eyes he and every other changeling had. At first he was reluctant to draw from that, but the thought would not leave his head and finally he gave in and wrote BLUE in the eyes. He then concentrated and got the image in his head. He colored the pie in the image in his head a red in the area of the pie not covered by crust and he changed himself into the pony. Scales looked himself over and smiled, pleased with his work. His hoof ran over the drawings he made and covered them up with dirt. The new unicorn stood up and walked out from behind the trees.

Another thought raced through his head. "_You need a job if you're going to stay here..._" In spite of that, he had no idea where to go. He was still in an unknown place and didn't even know where a bakery was that he could possibly apply at. Fluttershy's house was a little ways away from him, and he began to head back to it to ask for directions. When he approached the door, he knocked lightly. A moment later the door opened, and the pegasus who had rescued him last night was at the door. She gave him a timid look, and her ears fell back nervously. He tried to smile.

"Um, hi...I'm new to the, uh, area. Can you...can you give me directions to the nearest bakery?"

"Uh...um...okay..." She whimpered. Scales racked his mind for a way to make the nervous and shy pony more at ease, and his eyes locked onto a badger she was treating.

"Are you taking care of that badger?" he asked. Fluttershy looked back towards it and nodded meekly. "I really like animals. I hope he's alright."

Fluttershy perked up at that sentence. She smiled. "Oh, thanks...yes, little Honey over there managed to strain his leg. He'll be alright. It's nice to hear somepony else likes animals. You wanted to know where the nearest bakery was, right?"

"Right. I, uh, just moved here. I'm hoping to find a bakery that might be willing to hire me. I'm a baker."

"Oh, how wonderful...now, the nearest bakery is down the road and to the right and then to keep going down the road, but that one isn't hiring. However, if you're willing to walk further, in the middle of town there's a really good bakery that's seeking out a new baker. I know the couple who owns it; they had foals a few months ago and they need another baker to help them. Tell them Fluttershy said hi. That might help you out." she said kindly. Scales grinned.

"Wow, thanks. I just got here and I've already been well received."

"You're welcome. What's your name?"

Scales paused for a second, raking his mind for an answer. The first thing that came to mind was an ingredient for his favorite pie. "My name is Rhubarb." he said hastily. He nearly slapped himself. "_That's a stupid name. She's gonna think-_"

"Oh, what a wonderful name," she said, "well, I've got to get back to my animals. Welcome to Ponyville."

"Ponyville..." Rhubarb absorbed the name of the town he was going to reside in. "Thanks again!"

He turned around and she closed the door. He began to walk, and he made his way down the road. He had to walk for about two miles to reach the bakery Fluttershy had told him about. When he arrived, he was struck into awe. The building looked like a gingerbread house. On the window there was a sign that said _HELP WANTED_. Taking a breath, he walked inside the bakery.


	3. Getting A Job

**My Little Pony (c) Hasbro**

**Story and Scales/Rhubarb (c) Me**

Rhubarb entered the bakery, and a bell above the door jingled to announce a customer had arrived. He took in the interior of the building in amazement. It was not unlike the exterior; the corners of the building had candy cane styled pillars. The walls and doors followed the gingerbread house theme, brown and tan colors with white paint to mimic frosting. There was a back room he could see into scarcely, but he could spy a conveyer belt with wheels that looked like pieces of candy and the belt looked like pieces of chocolate. The building had the scent of baked goods like cake and frosting. It was heaven for the changeling.

A bright pink earth pony with curly hair was kneeling in front of the display case and putting out fresh desserts. She had not seen him yet, but heard him. "Sorry, please give me a minute and I'll be right with you!" she declared. The display case was closed and she looked up. "How can I help you..." The pony had stopped herself and began to stare at Rhubarb. He shifted nervously, thinking he had done something wrong.

"I'm sorry, did I-" He was cut off by an extended gasp, and then the pony's face transformed into a colossal grin.

"I've never seen you before! You must be new to Ponyville 'cause I know everypony that lives in Ponyville and since I don't remember ever seeing you before so that must mean you're new!" She spoke fast and excitedly and without missing a beat or taking a breath. "What's your name? My name is Pinkie Pie!" she asked, her blue eyes locking onto him. He did a double take as she practically appeared instantly in front of him. For a moment he thought about asking her how she managed to pop in front of him so fast. Rhubarb disregarded the question for the moment and responded.

"My name is Rhubarb, and yes, I'm new to Ponyville. I, uh, just moved in. And-" Another drawn out gasp escaped Pinkie Pie.

"Oh! There's so much I need to do! I need to throw a party and give you the welcome wagon and sing about how we're gonna be best friends forever and-"

"Pinkie Pie!" another earth pony chided as she came in. This pony had a blue coat, pink hair, an apron, and three cupcakes in her cutie mark. "Slow down. This newcomer may be a little frazzled by everything still."

Pinkie Pie nodded and calmed down slightly. "Okay, Mrs. Cake! So, welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Rhubarb! What can I get for you?" she asked. Rhubarb smiled back at her.

"Actually, I'm here to apply for the job you have. You're still hiring, correct?" he asked. Pinkie Pie gasped, even more excited than before. Mrs. Cake examined the pony applying.

"Of course. So, your name is Rhubarb; come with me. I'd like to have an interview with you." she said. Rhubarb's face lit up and he followed her into the back room he had been looking into earlier. Pinkie Pie watched them go back for a second before running off to get hard at work. He could see more as he entered, and it was much like the first room he entered. The conveyer belt extended from one room, which he assumed was where the baked goods were being made. The smell almost prompted him to start drooling in delight, but he restrained himself. They went through and went into the kitchen. The kitchen had multiple ovens and shelves with wheels on them with all sorts of treats cooling on them. It followed the same design as the last rooms. Rhubarb saw another pony who was yellow with an orange mane and three carrot cakes for a cutie mark; the stallion was currently covered in flour, while pushing a vat full of dough into a walk in freezer. He glanced at them

"Gimme a second." he said. He closed the freezer and looked at them. "So, who do we have with us?" he asked. Rhubarb smiled cordially, trying to look professional.

"This is Rhubarb," Mrs. Cake said, "he's applying for our job opening as a baker."

"I see. I'm Mr. Carrot Cake, and you've already met my wife, Mrs. Cupcake. Welcome to Sugarcube Corner. So, where ya from, Rhubarb?" he asked while brushing some of the flour off of him and shaking the interviewee's hoof. Rhubarb was caught off-guard by the question.

"Um..." His eyes darted around the room, looking for some sort of answer. His eyes locked onto a bag of coffee beans in the corner. The bag said _Coffee Beans Grown In Fillydelphia, _and he spoke. "I'm from Fillydelphia."

"Oh, how nice. Tell us about yourself, Rhubarb." Mr. Cake said. The changeling thought for a minute.

"I was born and raised in Fillydelphia." he started, "My family never really approved of my love of baking, but I persisted. They never allowed me to go get a job as a baker, so I finally left for Ponyville to seek out a job. All I've ever wanted to do was be a pastry chef." he said. The two before him looked pleased with his response, and he felt relieved; they believed his story.

"How did you hear about the job here?" Mr. Cake asked curiously.

"I heard about the job from a pegasus pony named Fluttershy. Oh, and this may seem a little unprofessional, but she asked me to tell you she said hello."

"We'll just have to say hello to her next time she comes in. She's a regular and is a very shy filly, so it impresses us she asked you to say hello for her. Thank you. Now, even if you haven't had any jobs baking, what other job experience do you have, Rhubarb?" Mrs. Cupcake asked. Rhubarb again was forced to think for a second.

"Well...I don't have any formal training, and this is my first time applying for a job." He grimaced. "But I've been cooking ever since I was a little one." he added. Mr. and Mrs. Cake frowned a little.

"Okay..." Mr. Carrot Cake continued. "So, what's your greatest strength?"

"I do my very best to please customers and I'm good at whipping up quality pastries quickly." Rhubarb replied nervously. In all truth, he wasn't sure how his pastries tasted to others; he was the only one to ever sample his own cooking. He was fairly certain that his food was good, as everything he tasted that he made after getting practice was delicious. Still, he was unsure of whether or not changelings had impaired taste buds due to the fact that they usually only fed on love.

"Alright, so what's your greatest weakness?" Mrs. Cupcake asked. The one being interviewed considered this for a second.

"Well...I tend to panic a bit if any ingredient for a recipe is missing. I can overreact to situations." he admitted with a shrug.

"What are you passionate about?" Mr. Carrot Cake asked.

"My passion is baking. As I said, I've been baking since I was a child. It's my life and it's what I know best." Rhubarb replied; he hadn't even had to stop to think about that one. Mrs. Cupcake gave a grin at that.

"An ambitious young colt, I see. So, how do you work with other employees?" she inquired. Pinkie Pie's antics slid into both her and her husband's mind. Rhubarb remembered the pony he had seen upon entering.

"I'm very patient with others. I can respect differences, since I know what it's like to be a little different. I will work hard with other employees."

Mr. Cake turned to whisper to Mrs. Cake. "Has he met Pinkie Pie yet?"

"Yes, and he wasn't fazed much by her. I like him."

"He hasn't had much experience, though."

"I get a good feeling from him, Dear. He certainly wants to try."

"I have an idea. I have some cupcake batter ready; why don't we ask him to make a cupcake for us so we can sample his work?"

"Okay." The two turned back to Rhubarb, who was waiting anxiously. "We have an idea, Rhubarb. Would you mind baking a cupcake for us to show us your talent? We already have some batter ready to go." Mrs. Cake said. Rhubarb nodded.

"Yes ma'am. What sort of cupcakes are they?"

"Chocolate." Mr. Cake responded. The unicorn beamed.

"I know just what to do with it."

* * *

Soon enough Rhubarb finished off the cupcake. He had filled the chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting on the inside and had gotten chocolate frosting (which he attempted to dye a reddish color) and spread it in a swirl on top. He cut a strawberry into multiple slices and spread them over the top of the cupcake in a circle. Albeit nervously, he then presented the cupcake to Mr. and Mrs. Cake.

The two examined his work for a few moments, taking in the details, and then cut the cupcake in half and each tried it. Rhubarb was trembling; this was the first ever time anyone else had tried his desserts, and he was unsure of how it tasted. He watched their facial expressions. They finished their first bite and gave a smile. "This is delicious!" Mrs. Cupcake said. "You cooked it just right, and the strawberry really compliments the chocolate and vanilla."

"Your detail work is good," Mr. Cake said, "you could use a little more practice on making the frosting even, but...we like you. You can learn. Well, Mrs. Cake, what do you think?"

"I think we have a new baker," she said, finishing off her half of the cupcake. "It would be hard to say no after trying these. We need more of the cupcakes sometime. It was scrumptious."

Rhubarb unleashed the biggest grin he ever had. As soon as she said he was hired, his heart started bumping, and to say he was excited was an understatement. This was the greatest moment of his life. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, thank you so much, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. I won't let you down and I promise to work hard! When do I start?"

"Tomorrow morning. The shop opens at eight, but we'd like you to be here at five to start prepping the pastries. In the morning we serve a lot of croissants and bagels, so you and Pinkie Pie will be getting those ready. Welcome to Sugarcube Corner." Mr. Cake tossed him an apron and a hat, and he gleefully clung onto them.

"Of course! I'll get here as early as you need me. Thank you again!"

"Goodbye, Rhubarb!" Mrs. Cupcake said, watching the overjoyed unicorn skip out of the kitchen. As soon as he left, Pinkie Pie stopped him by popping out of seemingly nowhere.

"Hi, Rhubarb! You gotta follow me right now, 'cause I have a surprise for you!"

"Right now?" he questioned, startled. Pinkie Pie nodded her head.

"Yeah, right now!" She took his hoof. "C'mon, c'mon! I promise it's gonna be fun!" Rhubarb began to follow her curiously, despite being half frightened by the sudden prospect and not knowing what was going to happen. She took him to another room of the bakery that was shrouded in darkness when she opened the door. Pinkie Pie flipped the light on and another surprise met the newcomer's eyes.

Balloons were tied to tables and streamers hung from the ceiling. A large sign was taped to one of the walls that said WELCOME TO PONYVILLE, RHUBARB! So many different ponies were waiting, each one grinning from ear to ear. Pinkie retrieved her party cannon and made confetti burst out of it. With the explosion of confetti, everypony let out a shout.

**"SURPRISE!"**


	4. The Party

**My Little Pony (c) Hasbro  
**

**Cover image (c) Pii  
**

**Story and Scales/Rhubarb (c) Me  
**

**A/N I'm sorry for the wait. I actually had this chapter half-written for a month. Writer's block hit at the same time life decided to get my attention. Oh yeah. And my birthday happened, and my parents happened to get me video games which I've been playing which is the only thing I've been doing the last couple of weeks. So I finally looked at this and said "I can't leave it here forever." It's not my favorite or my best chapter at all, but I tried to finish it to the best of my ability. I hope you like it. I promise the storyline picks up after this chapter. Stuff will...HAPPEN. Story development, how could I ever let that happen?**

Rhubarb stood in a shocked silence as he stared at the party. Pinkie eventually waved her hoof in front of his face. "Hello? You there, Rhubarb? See, I knew you were new to town, so that meant you probably didn't have any friends, so I invited a bunch of friends over so you can meet them and then have them be your friends!"

The changeling blinked "Wow. Sorry, I've never really had such a big party...for me...thrown ever." He said and then added as a thought, _"Or a party at all, for that matter."_

Pinkie gasped dramatically and threw a hoof around his neck. "Well, today's the day that that changes! Everypony, this is Rhubarb, newest baker of Sugarcube Corner and newest resident of Ponyville!" The two were met by hoof-stomping and cheering. Rhubarb was again struck into awed silence, and Pinkie led him forward. "Come with me, Rhubarb! I'll introduce you to five of my best friends and then I'll turn you loose to go socialize." As they walked through the room, he examined all the decor. It was amazing how fast Pinkie Pie had set up the party. Games like Pin The Tail On The Pony were out and punch and all sorts of treats lined the tables atop colorful, floral tablecloths. Balloons and confetti danced around the place and melted into the scenery.

Five ponies were waiting in the back, waiting for the two. Rhubarb recognized both of the pegasi as he approached. Pinkie stopped. "Rhubarb, meet my very best friends!" All the mares gave a 'hello.' Rainbow Dash came up to him.

"Told ya we'd see ya later. Ya know me already." she said. Rhubarb nodded.

"I guess you weren't lying."

"Nope. Congrats on landing the gig here."

"Thanks."

Fluttershy peeked over at him, her hair falling over one of her eyes. "Hi. Nice to see you again..."

"Pleasure to see you too, Fluttershy. Thanks for helping me out earlier."

"You're welcome."

An orange earth pony took his hoof and shook it firmly. "Howdy! I'm Applejack. I run Sweet Apple Acres on the outskirts a' town, 'long with my family. Real nice to be meetin' ya!" she said. Rhubarb smiled.

"Oh, a place to get fresh fruit for my desserts! How nice! This Ponyville is becoming the place of my dreams real fast." he remarked. Applejack grinned.

"Sugarcube Corner frequently buys ingredients from us. We have anything you could need fer bakin', from eggs to apples. I'm lookin' forward to seein' you around."

Rarity approached and shook his hoof as well, gently and ladylike. "I am Rarity. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Rhubarb." she said. Rhubarb wasn't quite sure what was up with ponies and shaking hooves so much, but he shook it back nevertheless.

"Thank you."

The last one, a purple unicorn, came up. "Hi. I'm Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to Ponyville. I'm glad you're warming up so fast; it took me longer to get used to everything. See, I'm from Canterlot. Ponyville is quite different from Canterlot, but every bit as great. So, where are you from?"

Rhubarb shrugged. "I'm, um, from Fillydelphia. Nice place, really. Not nearly as grand as Ponyville."

"What makes you say that? I've always heard good things about Fillydelphia." Rarity said. The other unicorn shrugged.

"Well...it wasn't so much the place; it was just that my family never approved of me wanting to be a baker. I've always liked to cook ever since I was a little colt, but I actually kept it a secret from them for a long time. They caught me red hoofed one day and I never heard the end of it. So, I finally decided I couldn't live like the way they wanted me to, so I took off for Ponyville."

"I see. Well, we're mighty glad to have you." Applejack replied cordially.

"Thanks. It was nice to meet all of you. I'm gonna try to go meet some others, and thanks again."

"See ya, Rhubarb." Twilight said. Rhubarb turned and walked through the room. Guests were dancing and talking and eating. His hunger for love was so far non-existent; it was impossible to feel unloved in this town.

He introduced himself to other ponies. First he met Golden Harvest (yet another vender for ingredients for treats,) and then Dizzy Twister and Junebug, Amethyst Star and Doctor Whooves and Caramel. Big Macintosh and three little fillies known as the Cutie Mark Crusaders greeted him as well. Finally when he was talking to a benevolent couple by the names of Lyra Heartstrings and Bon Bon, a glance behind them made his heart leap. Merry May was behind them. Rhubarb ceased to speak for a moment, and the couple looked behind themselves to see what he was staring at. They spied Merry May and giggled. "We're, uh, going to get some more punch...see you later." Lyra said as she and her girlfriend walked off.

Merry May met his eyes and they approached each other. Merry smiled. "Hi. Nice to see you again, Rhubarb."

"Nice to see you, too..." He trailed off. _"Why am I being so nervous? Speak up!"_ The unicorn cleared his throat. "So, your name is Merry May, right?"

"Right. I'm assuming yours is Rhubarb from one, I remember from earlier, and two, Pinkie Pie set up a whole bunch of banners that say Rhubarb on them. Either you have a really strange obsession with rhubarbs or your name is Rhubarb."

The changeling snorted as he laughed, and then blushed about snorting. Merry May let out a laugh at his snort and his blush. "I'm sorry, that was amusing." She giggled.

"No, it was, don't be sorry," Rhubarb replied, grinning, "I just have an awkward laugh."

"Awkward laughs are the best laughs. Because if you laugh once you _keep_ laughing because it's awkward and then you laugh because you're laughing about it being awkward." she said. Rhubarb gave another snort and a chortle, and so did May. "I like you. Your laughs are priceless. You sound like a piggy."

"I don't do it on purpose. I can't help it. I'm not used to laughing...uh...this much, I mean."

"That's what makes it funnier, the fact that you snort naturally when laughing. It's non-intentional." There was a short pause, and then Rhubarb spoke up.

"Pinkie already told you I'm the new baker. So, uh, what do you do?"

"Weather duty," Merry May answered, "I like making sunny days, hence the cutie mark. Can't have flowers without sun."

"Flowers?" Rhubarb asked curiously. May shrugged.

"Yeah. I really like flowers. I'm terrible at growing them, so I make sunshine for the ponies that can grow them instead. Everything I try to grow dies; kind of sad. Oh well."

"Eh, I'm not a fantastic grower either. When I was a kid, I kept the fact I liked to cook a secret from my parents. I attempted to grow some ingredients for my treats, since I couldn't really ask them to get ingredients for me. Alas, I gave my best effort, but the things died on me within days. Scrounging up bits for ingredients was done by taking bottles and cans and recycling them. I wouldn't have had that problem if I didn't stink at being a gardener."

"Hooray for terrible gardeners. So why did you keep the fact you baked a secret?" she inquired. The other member of the conversation retold the same story he had told previously. Merry May listened patiently to the story and her face fell slightly. "That's sad. Well, in any case, I'm glad you're here..."

The conversation went on for a long time. Though Scales had just met her that day, he felt the most comfortable around her. The party moved along and he spoke with ponies and made friends and acquaintances, but he spoke with her the most. Soon enough, the party ended, and everypony started heading home. He said goodbye to the ponies he met and thanked Pinkie Pie for throwing the party. A sort of satisfaction with life, a feeling he had almost never felt before, settled inside him. He had friends and a job he loved in a place he was accepted. The love was enough to keep him satisfied twenty four/seven; as far as he was concerned, he had everything he needed to be happy and healthy. Just prior to taking off, Merry May met him again to talk. "This was a fun party," she said, "and I'm glad I met you."

The two had already talked for a long time, and though it had been just a day, he couldn't help himself and asked a question timidly. "Say, um, if you're not busy, do you want to hang out some time?" he inquired nervously. Rhubarb immediately wanted to slap himself for asking, but Merry just giggled.

"Sure, I would like that. I know a good restaurant in town. If you have time on Saturday, we could go get dinner."

"Of course. I'll look forward to that. You just lead me to where it is."

"Okay. Goodnight, Rhu."

"Rhu?" he asked; he wasn't expecting a nickname.

May shrugged. "Just short for your name. You don't mind, do you?" Scales shook his head.

"Oh, no, of course not. You can call me Rhu."

"Well, then, goodnight, Rhu." She flew off into the night, and he found himself watching the pegasus lift herself into the sky until the clouds had shielded her from being spotted by ground bound ponies. He then glanced around for anypony looking and hid against a wall, underneath some bushes bordering Sugarcube Corner. A flash of green surrounded him and he had become a sparrow. Lifting his wings like Merry May, he flew up and traveled the short distance of a few miles to the place he woke up in. Soon the house hallowed inside a tree came into view with all sorts of creatures sleeping inside and outside the house, whilst the night creatures were starting their day. The leaves of branches from the house swayed and waved hello to him.

One of the windows was open, and candlelight shone from inside. He flapped his wings and entered. Looking around, he saw animals settle on the floor or in birdhouses for the night. Soon a yellow pegasus came into the room and Rhubarb gave a chirp. She turned to him, her blue-green eyes alert; when she saw who it was, the shy mare beamed. "Oh, hello, little one. Do you need a place for the night?"

Rhubarb responded by chirping again and landing on a hoof she had held out for him to land on. "Alrighty then. I have just the place for you." She walked to one of the birdhouses in the ceiling and lifted her hoof up to it. "You have some neighbors in here, but they're very friendly, I assure you." Two parakeets, one blue with white feathers and one yellow, peeked their heads out of the hole and chirped at him. Scales entered the birdhouse and the two other avian creatures made room for him. He sat down and buried his head in his feathers.

_"I need the sleep. For tomorrow is the day my real life begins..."_ he thought to himself as he fell into a blissful slumber.


End file.
